PLAGUE TOXIN: ITS EFFECT IN VITRO AND IN VIVO.

The murine toxin of Pasteurella pestis inhibited the respiration of heart mitochondria from the rat and the mouse but had little or no effect on the respiration of mitochondria from the rabbit, chimpanzee, dog, and monkey. Alterations occurred in tile S-T segments of the electrocardiogramus recorded corded from rats injected with (1/4) to 10 LD(50) of toxin, but not in those from rats dying of hemorrhagic shock, hypoxia, intoxication with glucose, or Escherichia coli endotoxin. No abnormalities were observed in electrocardiograms from rabbits injected with large amounts of toxin.